Nacogdoches County ALR Hearing Guide

A defendant can be found not guilty in the Nacogdoches County Court at Law months down the road and still lose their license for months, because the civil suspension case runs on an entirely separate 15-day clock that doesn't care what happens in the criminal case. When an officer takes a driver's physical license after a failed or refused chemical test, the paperwork they hand over doubles as a Notice of Suspension. From that date, there are exactly 15 days to request a hearing contesting it. Miss the window and the suspension takes effect automatically on the 40th day after arrest, with no further recourse.

Two agencies, two addresses

The paperwork side of this runs through Texas DPS in Austin: the hearing request goes in by online portal, mail, fax, or email, and has to include the defendant's name, date of birth, driver's license number, the date and county of arrest, the arresting agency and officer, and whether the test was failed, refused, or never given. The hearing itself, though, doesn't happen at any DPS office. It's held in a local municipal or justice court in the county of arrest, meaning a defendant and their attorney are dealing with two separate bureaucracies that don't share a building or, often, a timeline.

The backlog works in your favor, if you file on time

DPS has said scheduling a hearing can take up to 120 days given the statewide caseload. If the request went in within the 15-day window, the driver keeps legal driving privileges on the temporary permit for that entire waiting period. File late, and there's no such grace: the 40th-day suspension applies whether or not a hearing would eventually have gone the driver's way.

What's actually at stake

The temporary permit issued at the scene is valid immediately, no separate waiting period attached to it. What ends it is either winning the hearing, losing it, or simply never requesting one in time.